[unreadable] [unreadable] The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (Salisbury Cove, ME) and The Jackson Laboratory (Bar [unreadable] Harbor, ME) propose a five-year conference series, The Mount Desert Island Stem Cell Symposium, to [unreadable] be held annually at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, 2007 to 2011. The Mount Desert [unreadable] Island Stem Cell Symposium will focus on recent advances in stem cell research-such as the [unreadable] development of new model systems, novel ways to establish embryonic stem cell lines, and the [unreadable] differentiation of stem cells into new cell types. The conference series will engage the research [unreadable] strengths of MDIBL and TJL by emphasizing comparative stem cell research in human, mouse, fish, [unreadable] and invertebrates, a programmatic approach unique to this meeting. The Organizing Committee for this [unreadable] conference series, comprised of national leaders in biomedical and stem cell research, will develop the [unreadable] program of each symposium to address topical issues important to the stem cell research community. [unreadable] The specific aims of the 2007 symposium are: 1) Share and discuss current knowledge and recent [unreadable] discoveries in the molecular genetics of ES and adult stem cells; 2) Share and discuss the recent [unreadable] research on stem cells in lung, breast, blood, and neural cancers; 3) Examine developmental dynamics [unreadable] of organ systems in model organisms including mouse, fly, and fish; and 4) Discuss the recent research [unreadable] on stem cells in neuromuscular, renal, and cardiac disease, in addition to the role of stem cells in [unreadable] immune responses and transplant rejection. Scientific sessions will include platform presentations, a [unreadable] poster session, and a keynote address open to the general public. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]